Everyone wants to be an agent
Can you hear it?
I know you can see it.
It’s all around you.
Maybe you even know someone who is doing it?
Perhaps it might even be you?
I used to joke that you can tell the second stage of a property cycle by how many of your friends become real estate agents.
Well, here we are again.
Real estate is attracting newcomers by the droves and even seasoned players are jumping ship to create their own agencies and be the boss.
Last time this happened (I have said that many times before) was in the early mid 2000’s. Almost immediately there was an influx of new real estate agency brands, with old familiar agent names attached.
For some reason, when the market is hot, agents step out on their own to be the boss.
At this time, the hot market attracts many new players. People wanting a life change, career change or maybe just seeing the easy money agents are making.
Whatever the reasons, right now, property and agency is super attractive.
Apart from the knowing eye watching this and taking note of the time in the cycle, what else does it do to the market?
1) Service levels drop
2) It gets harder to find a good agent
3) Messaging noise becomes overwhelming
Service
Service levels drop because everyone is so busy and there is no time for proper training. That coupled with many newer brands not having proper training anyway, means that it happens even less.
But hey, you don’t need to be trained, just hammer the sign in so it faces the road.
Agents
It gets easier to find an agent when there are lots of them, but much harder to find a good agent. When times are rough, only the good agents survive, so really if you want to sell in those times, just about any agent will be great.
However in good times, as a seller you will be inundated with agents and why they are the best with all the proof in the world to back it up.
Thing is, much of that proof is houses selling, and really, houses sell themselves in a hot market so it is no proof at all.
Messaging
With the influx of new agents, new agencies and abundance of houses selling, the market messaging becomes overwhelming for sellers.
This compounds the above points to an extreme, making it very hard to know you are working with the best agent for your property and that the best outcome is being achieved.
What to do if you are selling?
If you are selling now with the abundance of noise and agents, I suggest the following:
a) Check on the length of time the agent has been selling
b) Check on the length of time the agency has been operating
c) When reviewing past sales from agent, look for things like highest price, best terms etc, rather than speed of sale. Anyone can sell a property fast, it usual means cheap.
d) Talk to others that have used the agent/agency
e) Don’t get caught up with hype and have your listing ‘bought’
Of course, all of this can be mitigated through the use of a sellers assistant (vendors advocate), like the Stress Free Property Selling service provided by our team at Real Property Advice.
Best of all our service is free!
Check out this short video on how it works for sellers here:
https://youtu.be/utHds6UlUuU
When you understand the indicators of market cycles and what happens when, it becomes quite a fun pastime to watch.
Being educated in this way will position you ahead of the crowd and enable pre-emptive planning for your benefit.
If you want help selling your place, find the best agent and way to market, click here.
If you want to know more about property cycles, click here.
Since 2004, Scotty North has been helping people buy the best properties for their needs at prices that simply speak for themselves.
Scotty has been instrumental in bridging the gap between financial planning and traditional real estate transactions through his property advice model.
Scotty North is a Qualified Property Investment Advisor (QPIA), with accreditation’s in financial planning, mortgage broking and real estate.
By carefully considering his clients’ goals and planning for market changes via demographics and trends, Scotty designs a future proof outcome not only specific to the client’s needs but dynamic in its execution with performance indicators and exit strategies built in.